Educational Technology Website Launched

An Internet-based business launched recently aims to enable university students and new graduates to earn a living from teaching online.

In what appears to be the latest startup looking to tap into the potentially profitable educational technology market (edtech for short), Café Tadris, as the new service is called, is hoping to attract students and teachers alike to the unique peer-to-peer service.

The global edtech market is estimated to reach $252 billion by 2020, according to a report by EdTechXGlobal in 2016, which noted the democratization of education as a key driver of future global growth.

Café Tadris allows users to take online classes in a wide range of topics round the clock, seven days a week for a fee which is split between the host website and the tutor.

Teachers and university students can register with the website, by providing their educational credentials with a professional team working for the educational service. After approval by its evaluation panel, teachers’ profiles are uploaded on the website.

Students also have to create user ID. Then they can go through the list of teachers offering specific courses. Reading the tutors’ profiles and other students’ reviews, users can select the teacher they want.

Furthermore, teachers can offer group classes which will significantly decrease the cost for students since the fee will be shared.

Teachers are free to determine the fee for their services and Café Tadris takes a 25% share of tutors’ income.

The website offers video chats, online voice calls, and file-sharing services —through which teachers can send pamphlets and other educational materials to their students.

In addition to these options, Café Tadris makes use of a system which enables the teacher to use a live virtual blackboard for writing and explaining lessons.

Café Tadris is set to launch Android and iOS applications for the service shortly.

The new service is not the only one in the market, with several other startups in Iran already offering private tutoring. These include Duel Konkoor, which allows students to test their skills for the annual university entrance exam. While another application Faranesh, similar to the US-based Lydia, enables students to watch videos and train for specific courses.

The application also faces a tough competitor in the form of another website called “Ostad Salaam” (Hello Teacher), which ties up tutors and students for private lessons in the same way as Café Tadris.

According to international statistics, only 2% of the education market has been digitized with the international value of education as a whole expected to be around $5 trillion by the end of 2017.